All eyes will be on the player-availability report when the Los Angeles Clippers play host to the Golden State Warriors on Friday at Inglewood, Calif.
While the Clippers are moving closer to the season debut of Kawhi Leonard, the Warriors are pondering a day of rest for Stephen Curry on the first night of a back-to-back that includes a game at home against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.
Leonard has yet to play this season because of a chronic knee issue, but he did return to contact practices before the Clippers departed for a three-game road trip last week. Head coach Tyronn Lue said Leonard needed to participate in full practices before the team would consider the star’s return.
The Clippers have won three of their last four games to represent another high point in an up-and-down season. One of their most impressive victories occurred Monday, 114-110 on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Norman Powell continues to look comfortable in a leading-scorer role with 29 points, while going 4 of 8 from 3-point range. James Harden had 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in his do-everything point-guard role. Ivica Zubac controlled the inside with 20 points and 19 rebounds and added four steals.
“Everybody’s involved,” Lue said. “It’s not coaches and players. We’re all on the same team and that’s how we treat each other. It’s not this side and that side. We’re all together. We win together, we lose together, we make mistakes together. That’s who we are.”
Staying a collective unit has helped the Clippers to excel on defense and that came to the forefront by holding the Grizzlies to 20 points in the fourth quarter. Memphis was well under its NBA-best 122.7 points per game.
“To hold them to 110 on their home floor says a lot about what we’re doing defensively,” Lue said.
Curry nearly pulled off an unlikely comeback for the Warriors on Christmas Day when he scored eight points in the final 25.7 seconds and made a pair of 3-pointers in the final 12.9 seconds. But Golden State could not overcome a 109-100 deficit with 1:30 to play despite Curry tying the game on a 3-pointer with 7.6 seconds left.
Curry scored 38 points in what head coach Steve Kerr said was a “hard” 36 minutes. Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points with 12 rebounds.
Before the game, Curry conducted a players-initiated meeting that stressed the urgency needed in the upcoming portion of the schedule. Even in defeat, the message seemed to be received, with Curry leading by example.
“We’re right in that window where we can still regain some momentum for the next however many weeks before the (All-Star) break,” Curry said. “Or else we’re in a situation where we’re chasing down the stretch and nobody wants to be there.”
While Golden State did put forth a winning effort Wednesday, the reality is that the team has dropped five of its last six games.
“We had a great vibe early in the season and we’re going through it right now, but I love our guys,” Kerr said. “High-character guys. They care.”
–Field Level Media
